Submarine airplane carrier



June 28, 1955 J. SEITZMAN SUBMARINE AIRPLANE CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed March a, 1948 ATTORNEYS June 28, 1955 J. SEITZMAN SUBMARINEAIRPLANE CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 -Illl llll I III II ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent SUBMARINE AIRPLANE CARRIER 7 Julius Seitzman, Brooklyn, N.Y. Application March 8, 1948, Serial No. 13,666

I 7 Claims. (Cl. 11416) This invention relates to submarines, and moreparticularly to submarines adapted for the carrying and launching ofairplanes.

.- The principal object of the invention is to provide a submarinevessel adapted to carry one or more airplanes in'its hold and having anelevator to raise them to the deck from the hold and vice versa.

Another object is to provide means for sealing the opening of theelevator shaftway in a water-tight fashion.

Another object is to provide a submarine airplane carrier hull having anoffset conning tower and means for compensating for the drag produced bythe conning tower when the vessel is submerged.

A still further object is to provide means on the deck of the submarineto facilitate the handling, launching and retrieving of airplanes.

Other objects and advantages will in part appear and in part will beobvious from the following detailed description of the present preferredembodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a submarine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof; I

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view of the elevator shaft and adjacentparts showing the elevator raised flush with the deck and the auxiliaryshaft-closing panel or door in closed position; I I

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing a modified arrangement of tlieauxiliaryshaft sealing door;

Fig. 5 is a :detailed view'showing another modification thereof; F

Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially on the plane Fig. -7 is a viewtaken substantially on the plane 77 of Fig. 5 showing locking means forfixing the position of the elevator ple ltform in the shaftwaytand'Figffl8 is a detailed sectional view showing airtight sealingmeans-between the elevator platform and the walls of the shaftway. v

Referringto Figs. 1 andf2, the hull 10 of the submarine is providedinternally with a hangar space 11 connected at its-forward-end with anelevator shaftway 12 containing an elevatonhaving a vertically movableplatform 14. The superstructure-aft of the elevator forms a flat deck.-which slopes downwardly at the stern portion, considering the normalposition of the vessel when surfaced, so that the stern end of the deckwill be slightly beheaththe water. .Just aft of thev elevator platform14 is 'a'- turntable 16.which may berotated to reverse the direction ofan airplanes-position relative to the deck.

v Ihe vessel is shown as adapted for use with amphibious planes=whichfare provided with wheels as well as floats and, to facilitate thehandling and launching of the planes from the deck of the submarine, theflat deck 15 is provided with spaced parallel longitudinal grooves 17adapted to accommodate the wheels. These grooves preferably extendacross the turntable 16 and elevator platform 14 as shown in Fig.1. Theyserve to center planes 2,71 1,707 Patented June 28, 1955 on the deck,guide them in a straight line and prevent skidding sideways.

Referring to Fig. 3, platform 14 is adapted to be raised ice and loweredin shaftway 12 by means of cables whichare reeled on drums 18 and 19 andattached to the lower parts of the framework of platform 14. These drumsare actuated by a motor 20 through a reduction gear 21 which drives thedrums through worms 22, 24 mounted on a shaft 25. There are two'drums ateach side controlling four lifting cables as may be seen in Fig. 6.

The drums 18 and 19. are contained in .recesses which communicate withthe shaftway 12 but are otherwise sealed off from the interior of thevessel by air-tight walls such as 26, 28. Shaft 25 passes through thewall 26 but is rotatably mounted therein in an air-tight fashion. Theperiphery of the elevator platform 14 is provided as shown in Fig. 3with a U-shaped groove 29 which engages with a downwardly-extending lip30 forming a part of the hull structure of the vessel and these twoparts are provided with suitable gaskets so that when they are in theposition shown in Fig. 3 an airtight closure will be formed.

Surrounding the shaftway 12, a short distance below the upper endthereof, the hull of the submarine is provided as shown in Figs. 3 and 6with a secondary deck structure 32 which is provided on one side of theshaftway 12 with a closed passage 34 in which is slidably mounted anauxiliary sliding panel or door 35 provided on its under side with arack 36 adapted to be driven by a pinion 38 operated by a motor 39. Whenthe panel 35 is extended across the shaftway 12 it engages groovesprovided in the secondary deck 32 where suitable gaskets may be used toform an air-tight seal.

It will thus be seen that, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6 a closed chamber isformed between the elevator platform 14 and the sliding panel 35. Beforethe submarine submerges this chamber is filled with air under pressure,supplied from suitable storage and pumping equipment (not shown) througha pipe 40. This compressed air tends to force the platform 14 upwardlyto counterbalance the hydraulic pressure thereon and to prevent theentrance or seepage of any water past the sealing surfaces 29 and 30. i

Various modifications of the sealing structure just described are shownin Figs. 4 and 5. In'Fig. 4 the sliding panel 35a is placed at decklevel in the position occupied by platform 14 in Fig. 3 and the platform1411 is stopped a short distance below it in a position corresponding tothat occupied by the pane1'35 in Fig. 3. Since platform 14a is adaptedto slide up and down in the shaft, it is desirableto provide means forpositively locking it in this closing position. Fig. 7 shows means fordoing this in the form of a plurality of radially sliding bolts 42 whichmay be extended and retracted by means of a suitable motor controlledde-' vice 44 disposed under the elevator platform. The construction ofsuch locks is well known and need not be particularly described. Anair-tight seal between the shaftway 12 and the platform 14a may beformed as shown in Fig. 8.

ing position of the platform, in which is positioned an inflatabletube'46 connected to a pipe 48 through which hydraulic fluid can beintroduced into the tube to inflate it into the position shown in dottedlines so that The wall 12a of the shaftway is provided with a groove 45,extending all around the clos their meeting edges with an interlockingwater-tight joint at 49. Obviously, such a two part closure could beused in place of the single panel closure 35 shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 6, the deck space 15 is kept free fromobstruction by offsetting the conning tower 50 to one side of the hull.vided with the usual periscopes 51. In order to compensate for the dragproduced by this offset conning tower, a similar structure 52 is builton the opposite side of the hull of such form and shape as to produce adrag equal to that of the conning tower. This structure may be the sameshape as the conning tower proper and may, if desired, be used as anadditional con ning tower. It will be observed that both of thestructures 50 and 52 are sufficiently offset to permit the passage of anairplane between them with its Wings extended.

In use, it will be seen that the vessel described above can be operatedin a manner similar to that of a surface carrier. The planes will beelevated from the hold or hangar space 11 on the elevator 14. When theyreach the level of the deck 15, if they are not already facing in theproper direction for take-off, which is toward the stern, they may beplaced on the turntable 16 and their direction reversed. With thegrooves or tracks 17 on the elevator, turntable and deck all inalinement, the plane starts its take-off from the elevator platform 14,becoming air-borne, with the aid of rocket assistance if necessary,before it reaches the stern of the vessel. It is contemplated that uponreturn the planes will land in the water and, floating up toward thestern, will be directed so that their wheels engage the grooves 17,after which they move forwardly to the elevator platform and may belowered into the storage space 11.

Since obvious changes may be made in the details of constructionillustrated and described without departing from the spirit of theinvention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited tosuch details but is to be construed broadly within the purview of theclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar spacewholly within its hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with saidspace and open at the top through said deck, and an elevator in saidshaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted tocooperate with said shaft to form an airtight closure thereof, auxiliaryclosure means comprising a sliding panel projectable across said shaftin spaced relation to said platform when said platform is inshaft-closing position to form a compression chamber between saidplatform and said panel in the portion of said shaft immediately belowthe deck, means to pro- .1."

ject the panel across the shaft, and means for injecting compressed airinto said chamber to counterbalance the water pressure on the platformwhen the submarine is submerged.

2. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar spacewholly within its hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with saidspace and open at the top through said deck, and an elevator in saidshaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted tocooperate with said deck to form an airtight closure of said shaft,auxiliary closure means comprising a sliding panel projectable acrosssaid shaft in spaced relation to said platform when said platform is inshaft-closing position to form a compression chamber between saidplatform and said panel in the portion of said shaft immediately belowthe deck, means The conning tower is Pl'Or.

to project the panel across the shaft, and means for injectingcompressed air into said chamber to counterbalance the water pressure onthe platform when the submarine is submerged.

3. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar spaceWholly within its hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with saidspace and open at the top through said deck, and an elevator in saidshaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted tocooperate with said shaft to form an airtight closure of said shaft at apoint below deck level, the shaft above said point being entirelyenclosed, and auxiliary closure means comprising a pair of slidingpanels at deck level to close the open end of said shaft to form achamber between said panels and said platform, means to project saidpanels across the shaft, and means for supplying air under pressure tosaid chamher to counterbalance the pressure of water on said auxiliaryclosure means when the submarine is submerged.

4. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar spacewholly withinits hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with saidspace and open at the. top

through said deck, and an elevator in said shaft, shaft closure meanscomprising the elevator platform adapted to cooperate with said deck toform an airtight closure of.

said shaft when raisedrto deck level, a secondary deck structuresurrounding the upper part of said shaft and spaced from the upper endthereof, an auxiliary closure comprising a sliding panel cooperatingwith said secondary deck structure and movable into position to formwith said secondary deck structure a complete closure of the upperportion of said shaft, means to project said panel across the shaft, andmeans for supplying air under pressure to said upper part of said shaftbetween said platform and said panel to counterbalance the pressure ofwater on said platform when the submarine is submerged.

5. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar spacewholly within its hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with saidspace and open at the top through said deck and an elevator in saidshaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted tocooperate with said shaft to form an airtight closure of said shaft at apoint below deck level, the shaft above said point being entirelyenclosed, and auxiliary closure means comprising a sliding panel at decklevel to close the open end of said shaft to form a chamber between saidpanel and said platform, means to project said panel across the shaft,and means for supplying air under pressure to said chamber tocounterbalance the pressure of water on said auxiliary closure meanswhen the submarine is submerged.

6. A structure according-to claim 5 wherein said platform is providedwith radially extensible locking means cngageable with the walls of saidshaft to secure it in its shaft closing position. w h

7. A structure according to claim 5 wherein said shaft is providedadjacent the periphery of said platform when in its shaft closingposition with an inflatable gasket member adapted to form an airtightclosure between the walls of said shaft and said platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

